


Café Days

by wonderlandstreasurechest



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Gen, Museums, Restaurants, Stressed Kendall, a day in the life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 16:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3985309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlandstreasurechest/pseuds/wonderlandstreasurechest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A typical day in the life of grad student turned café manager Kendall Morgan and the colorful cast of museum employees she must resist from strangling to maintain her sanity.</p><p>Otherwise titled: "Kendall Lives a Stressful Life, This Museum is Whack, and People Suck, but Walter the Security Guard is Pretty Cool"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Café Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/gifts).



> For Mara :) I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind, but I hope you like it anyway!
> 
> Prompt: 
> 
> How does this museum work anyway? Why is a paleontologist apparently in charge of the cafe? I'd love to know about the other staff. There have to be other folks who work in the cafe, not to mention people who sell tickets, put up exhibits, etc. Does anyone else know about the Rangers? Has anyone noticed anything weird? Or are they all too busy with their own lives to care?
> 
> OCs are great. Interactions with the Rangers are great. Speculation about the rest of the series is great. Basically, I LOVE MUSEUMS :)

            On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and every other Saturday, Kendall Morgan's planner has one word highlighted in yellow, usually accompanied by a frowny face or two, and that word is _"café"._ It was kind of a harmless word when it boiled down to it, but Kendall knows the real meaning of "café." It means her master’s degree in Cretaceous Paleontology with an emphasis in biomechanics means very little practically.

            When she'd signed on for graduate work under the careful eye of ceratopsian expert Dr. Margaret Tenniel, she hadn't imagined quite so many... teenagers. No, Kendall pictured a lot more research, a few more digs, and maybe a footnote or two in Dr. Tenniel's next paper. Instead, she was making work schedules, cleaning schedules, and supervising the operations of the Dino Bite Café and all the... unique kids who worked there. Dr. Tenniel apparently had the actual paleontology largely covered and wanted to prepare her students to work in museums and universities long term, which meant grunt work, which meant café duty.

            "Good morning, Miss Morgan," Walter, the security guard with the keys, greeted her one Wednesday as he did on all her cafe days: with a knowing smile.

            "Well, it's a morning, anyway, isn't it?" She wore her usual frown, and passed him a paper cup of coffee.

            Kendall flipped the lights in the Dino Bite on with an electric buzz, watching them stutter for a moment before coming fully to life. Her frown harshened when she saw the mess. This is the way she found it every morning she opened, and she should was stopped being surprised by it a long time ago. She made a mental note to have _another_ chat with Parker, another grad student who'd taken the alternate shifts with the cafe, about the closing checklist she made.

            "Mornin' boss!"

            "Miss Morgan," She corrected automatically, and maybe a little more shortly than usual.

            "Geez, who spit in your coffee?" Kyle, the home school kid with early hours, asked eying the cup of coffee in her hand.

            "No one. I'm sorry," She sighed, taking a sip for emphasis. "We've got a lot of work to do, and you know how much Chef Vashan hates coming into a messy kitchen, so let's get started there, hm?"

* * *

 

            "Um, Miss Morgan, I don't mean to interrupt you... I mean, okay, yes I do... but only because I have something to tell you and I was told that it is very important, and I wouldn't interrupt you unless it really was, you know that, right?"

            "Avery," Kendall answered, looking up from her stool at the counter. She had been getting in some very interesting reading on new developments in the wing-assisted incline running versus gliding flight in pterosaurs debate before the lunch rush when one of the new girls, Avery, tapped her shoulder and proceeded to expel a lungs-worth of words.

            There’d been a lot of new kids lately and she tried not to think of it as her fault. Apparently, not everyone was a big fan of covering for the rangers when they skipped out on random shifts. This was probably because they didn’t know they were covering for rangers, but still. It was almost understandable, but such a hassle and, oh, the paper work that came with it. Plus accusations of favoritism—that was always fun.

            "Um, okay, so you know how, well I mean, of course _you_ know how, because I mean you were the one who—"

            "Spit it out, Avery."

            "Mr. Stambough is here for lunch," Avery said, in what Kendall was forced to believe was the shortest sentence of her life. "And Kyle told me before he clocked out that you told him that if Mr. Stambough came in for lunch today, you wanted to know, so here I am, telling you that—"

            "Thank you, Avery."

            Parker Stambough was about to get an ear-full if he'd ever heard one. She closed her laptop and brushed the wrinkles off her pant suit to prove she meant business. Kendall surveyed the room before finding Parker sitting alone in the corner booth, giving his order to Chase, who, as usual seemed to be paying just a little too much attention.

            "... And a sweet iced tea, please," Parker was saying, as Chase scribbled on his pad.

            "Alrighty, sweet tea, for the sweetie," He winked, before heading back to the kitchen to put in Parker's order. Kendall added Chase to the ever growing list of people who needed a serious taking to. Sometimes she swore that if he wasn't a ranger... His non-discriminatory sexual harassment (or "harmless flirting" as he called it) with everyone he met was going to have to stop, and soon.

            But first things first.

            "Parker, we need to have a talk."

            "Kendall," He smiled widely. "Did you read that article about wing-assisted—"

            "This is a different kind of talk, Parker." Kendall said sternly, sliding into the booth across from him.

            "Actually, now isn't really a great—"

            "No, Parker, today is the last day I want to open this cafe to find a mess. I've made you copies after copies of my closing checklist and I don't think you've actually used it once! I close this place beautifully for you three times a week and I am tired of—"

            "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Dr. Tenniel's voice almost made Kendall sweat with embarrassment. She slid out of the booth like it was on fire.

            "Dr. Tenniel! I'm sorry, I didn't realize," She stammered. "I just... Mr. Stambough and I have somethings to talk about. Nothing that can't wait."

            "Well, that's good, I suppose," Dr. Tenniel replied, straightening the hem of her skirt as she slid into the seat where Kendall had just been. "While I have you here, I must say that I was very impressed with the findings of your last dig, but I would like to go over museum policy with you about a... Miss Watkins, I believe. There are rules about training and digs, here Miss Morgan. We'll have to discuss them at some point in the next week. In the meantime, if you wouldn't terribly mind, could you put in my order?"

* * *

 

            "So, what did you tell the park ranger?"

            "I told him that the sign had been totally unreadable— which for the record, it had been! I would never get that close to volcanic activity knowingly. It's just not safe!" Tyler was saying, while Chase and Shelby exchanged matching eye rolls.

            Riley was preoccupied with trying to teach Koda chess on the break table, but Koda was more interested in examining the wood work on each of the pieces, perhaps considering whether or not he could whittle himself a set later.

            Yes, the kitchen was full of Rangers, and Kendall was almost too frustrated with the day to address the situation, but it would only bug her if she didn't.

            "Okay, where is Mary Beth?" Kendall asked, looking right at Shelby.

            "We switched shifts," Shelby offered lamely. “So… helping clean the bathrooms upstairs, I think?”

            "Mhm. And Mohammed?" This time she shifted her gaze to Riley.

            "Uh, we switched, too?"

            "We need to talk about the switching, alright? Avery has been telling me... and telling me, and telling me... that she gets non-stop shift switching requests from all of you. Her hours are limited enough as it is, and that's not to mention when I have to call in Kyle and Mary Beth in the hours they requested off because... Did it ever occur to the five of you that I made the schedule with intention?" She began her millionth round of yoga breathing for the day. It didn't seem to do much.

            "What intention? So that we never get to see each other?" Shelby asked with a bit too much sass for Kendall's liking.

            "No, I don't schedule all of you together like this because I personally am a little concerned that I'm going to have an empty cafe when you get called away to—"

            Five morphers beeped in sync. They all gave her apologetic smiles and Koda handed her his apron on his way out the door. She put it on with much chagrin, thankful at least for the 4 pm lull.

* * *

 

            "Long day?" Walter asked, passing Kendall a cup of coffee for her ride home. He locked up the cafe.

            "Isn't it always?" She said taking the cup. "Thanks, Walter."

            "Those five you had closing today were a wild bunch."

            "Tell me about it," Kendall smirked. “Don’t tell them I said it, but they’re good kids. All my kids are, really.”

            "Well, you can look on the bright side today, anyway," He laughed, walking her out.

            "Why's that?"

            "At least you didn't get stuck managing the gift shop."


End file.
